Vinton Beckett

Vinton Beckett took up track and field athletics as a student at St. Hugh’s High School for Girls in Kingston, but her international career did not take off until after World War II. Her first major tournament was the 1946 Central American and Caribbean Games, where she won a silver medal in the high jump behind Carmen Phipps. At those Games she also competed in softball for Jamaica, winning a bronze medal. Two years later she represented Jamaica at the 1948 Summer Olympics, where she competed in three events, including the 80 metres hurdles, where she was eliminated in round one. She fared better in the long jump, finishing sixth in the qualifying round, but could only manage 11th in the final. Her best result came in the high jump, where she just missed the podium with a joint-fourth place finish (alongside Canadian Doreen Dredge).

Beckett’s best year was 1950, when she won a gold medal in the high jump at the 1950 Central American and Caribbean Games with a jump of 1.615, the sixth best height worldwide that year. She also won a silver medal in the 80 metres hurdles race at the same tournament. She retired from active competition shortly thereafter and later moved to the United States, working as a nurse in New York before settling in Lauderhill, Florida.

Personal Bests: 80H – unknown; HJ – 1.625 (1948); LJ – unknown.